Hoops & Dreams

Dallas Mavericks Foundation nets record $2.1 million at 2025 Mavs Ball

In a Dallas Mavericks season that's been a wild ride for fans, the 2025 Mavs Ball would be a bright spot on the calendar. Nothing, it seemed, could rain on the parade of the Dallas Mavericks Foundation's annual black-tie gala that raises millions for good causes in the community.

And then it actually down-poured.

The event took place at the new Silo music venue in the Design District on Sunday, March 2 - the night of a brief but torrential late-winter thunderstorm. Serendipitously, the dress code for the 10th annual Mavs Ball had been "Tuxedos & TENnies," and those who wore sneakers with their ballgowns and tuxes left relatively unscathed as they navigated puddles that had accumulated on the blue carpet outside the venue while they were inside having fun.

At least it had been dry and pleasant for the arrival of 700 guests and VIPs - including Mavericks stars, former players, coaches, and staff - who posed for photos and gave interviews on the blue carpet during a cocktail reception under a glass-top tent. New faces at the event this year included players Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, Max Christie, Kessler Edwards, Caleb Martin, and new Mavs CEO Rick Welts. Also in attendance were Mavs head coach Jason Kidd, legend Shawn Marion, and fan-favorites Kyrie Irving, Dwight Powell, PJ Washington, Derek Lively II, and more.

Patrons sipped champagne, bid on silent auction items (heavy on autographed Mavs memorabilia, of course), and got the first fun chances to contribute to the Mavericks Foundation’s mission to uplift women, children, and families in need. A "Sneaker Pull," for example, allowed guests to purchase a mystery pair of shoes from a collection of game-worn, autographed, and player-edition sneakers.

At the appointed time, the crowd filled the Silo "ballroom," which had been bathed in blue light and filled with elegant blue and white-hued floral arrangements and towering candelabras. The evening's emcees, local award-winning sportscasters Dana Larson and Mark Followill, oversaw a high-energy program that began with player introductions befitting of a stadium. (And to address the elephant in the room, no, there was no mention at all of any player who'd recently exited the team.)

Lucky patrons at the big sponsor tables, including Shiftkey, AT&T, Lexus, Kroger, and Chime, got the chance to sit with favorite players during dinner. While the room nibbled on a multicourse meal of spinach-strawberry salad, pan-seared Chilean sea bass and filet mignon, and homemade shortcake or layered chocolate cake for dessert, wine stewards carrying full bottles of Kendall-Jackson never let glasses run dry.

New Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont thanked Dallas for the warm welcome he and his family had received in town. Mavs Foundation president Katie Edwards, Rick Welts, and Shawn Marion led a toast to 10 years of Mavs Balls and underscored the foundation's mission to provide grants to deserving local nonprofits: Agape Clinic, Child Poverty Action Lab, Equest, First Responders Children's Foundation, Genesis Women's Shelter, Girls Inc. Tarrant County, Girlstart, Hope Cottage, HopeKids, It's a Sensory World!, Jubilee Park and Community Center, Mosaic Family Services, Texas Advocacy Project, Texas Native Health, Viola's House, Wipe Out Kids Cancer, and YMCA Metropolitan Dallas.

After dinner, a rousing game of "Heads or Tails" offered one lucky winner the chance for a suite experience at an upcoming Mavericks game. But when it came down to the final two contestants, Kyrie Irving and a woman named "Kyla," the Mavs star kindly forfeited to give her the win. After all, his place during games is on the court. (Except, sadly, the next night he would suffer a season-compromising ACL tear.)

The live auction, led by auctioneer Dean McCurry, saw heated competition for experiences that got folks up-close-and-personal with the Mavs, including a meet-and-greet with Anthony Davis and the chance to play "Legos with Lively" (Derek Lively II, who is a self-proclaimed "king of Legos"), or "Kicks with Kyrie" bespoke sneaker package. Forget those $3,000 starting bids; these items were going for $20,000, $50,000, even $100,000.

When the final numbers had been tallied, the total hit a record $2.14 million, breezing past the goal of $2 million announced earlier in the night.

To celebrate, the crowd filled the dance floor and danced the night away to the music of Emerald City Band.

Dallas Mavericks Foundation Mavs Ball 2025

Photo by Dallas Mavericks Photography

Kyrie Irving auctions off a sneaker package called "Kicks with Kyrie."

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A Glittering Celebration

Christine Baranski brings Hollywood sparkle to Dallas luncheon

Photo by Kim Leeson

Karen Hughes White, Caren Lock, Christine Baranski, Shonn Brown.

The Omni Dallas Hotel shimmered in ruby tones on November 14 as more than 950 supporters gathered to celebrate a milestone four decades in the making: the Texas Women’s Foundation’s Ruby Anniversary Luncheon.

The afternoon blended Hollywood sparkle — courtesy of award-winning actress Christine Baranski — with heartfelt tributes to the visionary women who sparked a movement in Texas 40 years ago.

The annual luncheon, one of the region’s most significant events advancing women and girls, raised an impressive $840,000. More than $112,000 of that came in during the program itself, underscoring the energy in the room and the urgency of the mission.

TXWF used the occasion to announce a landmark figure: a cumulative $115 million in impact since its founding in 1985. That number includes nearly $90 million in grants to organizations serving women and girls, as well as more than $25 million invested in research, advocacy, and leadership initiatives designed to shape long-term change.

Board chair Cris Zertuche Wong opened the program by welcoming seven of the Foundation’s 11 living founders, who also served as the event's honorary co-chairs: Susan Shamburger Bagwell, the Honorable Harryette Ehrhardt, Catalina E. Garcia, Frances Griffin-Brown, Helen LaKelly Hunt, the Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, Madeline Mandell, Patricia Meadows, Gwendolyn Oliver, CoYoTe PhoeNix, and Rebecca Russell Sykes.

Their presence cast a powerful through line from 1985 to 2025, reminding guests how a collective of 19 bold women stepped across differences in background, beliefs, and political leanings to create an organization with the singular purpose of supporting Texas women and their families.

Wong also recognized former Foundation leaders and Ruby Anniversary co-chairs from across the decades: Gail Griswold and Brenda Jackson representing the 1980s; Laura Estrada, the 1990s; Helen Frank, the 2000s; and Shonn Brown, the 2020s.

TXWF president and CEO Karen Hughes White spoke to the road ahead, noting that while the founders’ vision remains timeless, the challenges facing Texas women have grown more complex. “It will take all of us to create meaningful, lasting, systemic change that levels the playing field for women and, in turn, creates a strong and vibrant Texas for all,” she said.

Throughout the luncheon, guests were treated to archival video clips of the founders recalling how they built TXWF from scratch: the meetings held around kitchen tables, the spirited debates, the shared belief that change was not only possible but necessary.

Brown then honored each of the 11 living founders, as well as those who have passed, noting that their collective voice will be further amplified in a forthcoming 40-story collection documenting TXWF's history.

The afternoon’s featured guest, introduced by Target executive and event sponsor Sabrina Thomas, was the incomparable Christine Baranski, the Emmy and Tony-winning actress of The Good Wife, Cybil, and The Gilded Age.

In an onstage conversation moderated by former board chair Caren Lock, Baranski charmed the audience with stories from her upbringing in Buffalo, New York, where she grew up in a working-class Polish American family. She spoke of perseverance, discipline, and dreaming big, qualities that carried her to Juilliard and ultimately into a celebrated four-decade career spanning television, film, and theater.

As the luncheon drew to a close, the mood was equal parts celebratory and forward-looking. Forty years in, the Texas Women’s Foundation continues to push for equity with the same passion that fueled its founding.

Photo by Kim Leeson

Karen Hughes White, Caren Lock, Christine Baranski, Shonn Brown.

fundraisers christine baranski texas womens foundation nonprofits the gilded age luncheons celebrities